ICT and MFL
Integrating the use of ICT-based authentic materials
Papers & Further reading | Editorial reviews | Task for traineesPerception and reality:
bridging the Internet gap (pdf document)
Seeve McKenna, N., McKenna, P. (2000) Language Learning Journal,
21, pp 8-11
The paper aims to relate Internet use in MFL to "realistic" teaching practice, considering why teachers might engage with its use, of what it is constituted, and how access for pupils might be enhanced.
The stimulus to engage with the use of the Internet by teachers who find themselves unskilled and under-resourced in the context of the late 1990s is studied; there are interesting differences between the value teachers ascribe to contemporary materials in terms of their own, and of their pupils' learning, and a contrast between what is available and future potential.
Having considered the ''why?" the authors then attempt to make sense
of WHAT the Internet is, by applying three broad categories to the types
of resource offered: Message, Material and Instruction, and propose key
value lies in the resource's compliance with the communicative principles
of topicality and authenticity. The conclusion looks then at HOW pupil access
might be achieved: as it necessarily involves autonomous interaction with
new and/or unfamiliar language, so pupil learners will rely on MFL classes
equipping them with a challenging array of language learning and cognitive
skills.
An evaluation of the use
of the Internet for the purposes of foreign language learning
(pdf document)
Conacher, J.E., Royall, F. (1998) Language Learning Journal, 18,
pg 37-41
The article presents the case for integration of new and emerging technologies into pedagogy, and asserts the place of internet-based resources in the arena of MFL teaching and learning on this basis. The challenge is to align the value of the Internet as a medium of, and resource for, language learning with current thinking on language pedagogy by establishment of key criteria "with which both teachers and learners might more confidently exploit this development and optimise its pedagogical value".
The promotion of learner autonomy and learner-centred approach is proposed as the key principle of current thinking; MFL teachers are urged to evaluate the use of the Internet by rigorous reference to this notion. Broad headings for consideration of the successful integration of the Internet with this mode of learning are set out: ease of access, effectiveness of use, motivation, suitability of the learning environment and groupings, and learning outcomes. There follow 4 case studies which serve to illustrate how the central objective of the pursuit of pedagogical values is kept to the fore.
The article ends by repeating its assertion that "ultimate success ... can only be measured in terms of ... the impact ... on the learning process", and that this is a continuing investigation.
Using newspapers on CD-ROM
as a resource (pdf document)
Seedhouse, P. (1996) Language Learning Journal, 13, pg 65-66
This paper extols the virtues of the CD-ROM as a multimedia data storage device and recommends specifically purchase of ready-made collections published by the target language press, providing examples of what was available at the time of writing. The author also recommends a set of exercise types which can be used to exploit the press articles to best advantage via the spoken and written word. The technical specifications and published resource information in the article are of course outdated, but the methodology remains valid - the use of such exercises and authentic texts has not outdated in any way. The advent of rewriteable CDs and advances in the ability to access such material via the Internet now means the teacher will simply be creating their own text and exercise resource on CD (instead of buying ready-made ones off the shelf), perhaps as a 'safer' and explicitly guided alternative to allowing pupils direct access to the Internet.
